The village was burning and in ruins. The Grimm forces had retreated. But all had been seemed lost. It was too late. The damage was done. The white-red haired girl was on her knees. The pink girl and green man near her were in utter shock. At the silver-eyed girl's knees, a blonde boy laid. Stabbed through the chest, his weapon, Crocea Mors, shattered to pieces. The shield was all that was left. Mei couldn't deny it no longer…..
Jaune Arc… was dead.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mei cried out in sadness, beams of light shooting out of her eyes. As her wails echoed throughout the land, the only thing Nora and Lie could do was hug each other yet failing to comfort the other. There was nothing they could do as the body faded into dust.
How did it all come crashing down like this?
…
A few hours earlier
"Ruby, please!" He begged, fighting for his life. "You've got to stop! This isn't you!"
The hooded woman said no word, as she continued the assault. Grimm were everywhere, but he had no time to fight them. This was possibly his last stand. With Crescent Rose, somehow not destroyed, Ruby knocked the shield out of his grasp.
"Fight back!" Arc yelled. "Control yourself! You can't do this! Resist whatever's telling you to do this!"
She did not heed his warning. As he swung the blade, it met the scythe….
And shattered into a billion pieces.
He had no time to react over the hand-me-down's destruction. The next thing he felt was a bullet to the shoulder.
"AAAAAGGGGHHHH!" He cried in pain. He was bleeding. On his knees, there was nothing he could do as his former friend walked up to him, ready to deal the final blow. He took one last look into her eyes, as if pleading silently not to do this.
"I'm sorry, Pyrrha." He said, tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry…." Then, he realized something.
Ruby's eyes….
They weren't….
SHUNK!
"!..."
He looked at his heart, the sickle blade lodged in deep. As she pulled it out, Jaune fell onto his back. His vision slowly faded away.
And just like that…..
It was all over.
Ruby stood motionless as the Grimm fled, not attacking her. She then spoke, strangely in a voice not her own.
"One less ranger." She smiled an evil grin.
The woman, clearly not Ruby Rose at all, walked away, the fires reflecting in her blood-red eyes.
…
All she was doing was running an errand for her mother. That's when Mei met up with Nora and Lie. Late on, Mei met a little boy. Upon seeing her, his eyes wet wide with fear, then sadness.
"Why?" He whispered. "Why did your mom do it?" Mei was puzzled.
"What did she do?"
"She… she….." He began to cry. "Everyone trusted her. Even me. But then…. She attacked a nearby village. Murdered everyone. Even…" He just couldn't say the name. "He was my hero… my idol… and now he's gone…." Unable to take much more, the boy ran off, crying. Mei was unsure of what he said. But later, that's when she, Nora, and Ren saw it.
"No."
The village the boy had spoken of. The flames still burnt. As the three, checked for survivors, Mei saw one body that made her blood run cold.
"No…" She whispered. She ran up to Jaune's body. There was a massive wound on his chest. One only a scythe could make. Even if he was still alive, there was no way he could make it.
"Please….." Mei began to tear up. "Don't leave me…"
But even she was helpless as the body began to fade away into dust. Just like Nikos.
She…. She couldn't take it anymore. Nora gasped and covered her mouth with both hands. Lie was wide-eyed.
"I….I'm sorry." He whispered to both of them. "There's nothing we can do."
When the last of the dust faded away, Mei screamed in agony. Lights shot out of her silver-eyes.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Mei began to cry like she had never cried before. The beams reached so far upward, someone far away could see the silver snakes. Her wails echoed throughout the lands, as if demanding all of Remnant to cry as well. How would her family react to this?
How would they accept the fact that Arkos was truly dead?
